No. 2 Iowa State seeks rare win at Allen Fieldhouse on Tuesday against Kansas

AMES — A college basketball floor consists of 4,700 square feet. It’s a playground and a testing ground, where both joy and pain reside.

It’s also an expansive cage of sorts, which Iowa State freshman sensation Killyan Toure has turned into his own territory. From baseline to baseline, the 6-3 Frenchman refuses to concede an inch. And much like the mixed martial arts fighters he and head coach T.J. Otzelberger admire, Toure’s always seeking to strike and grapple with foes.

“It’s pretty fun,” said Toure, who’s already established himself as one of the Big 12’s toughest defenders heading into Tuesday’s big 8 p.m. matchup (ESPN) with Kansas (11-5, 1-2) at Phog Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence. “For me, especially with the role I have, my job I do on the court, defending — it’s kind of a fight, because I pick up full court every time.”

That’s an individual choice Toure makes for the No. 2 Cyclones (16-0, 3-0), who have notched exactly one win at Phog Allen since 2005. His blend of energy and endurance serves as one big reason ISU is off to its best start in program history — as does the presence of longtime stars Joshua Jefferson, Tamin Lipsey and Milan Momcilovic. The Cyclones simply have too many weapons for a scouting report to fully account for, including Toure, who’s logged season-high minutes in the past two wins over Oklahoma State and Baylor.

“It’s great that Killyan does take there tremendous sense of pride in what he does defensively and how he guards,” Otzelberger said. “At the same time, our team defense wants to be in position where it’s five guys all together that are connected doing their job.”

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In other words, the sum is greater than its parts, even as Toure’s determined to do his part with maximum effort and intensity. But he’s not alone, of course. Lipsey’s currently averaging two-plus steals for the fourth consecutive season and Jefferson’s averaging 1.6 steals to help ISU once again rank among the nation’s best in turnover percentage, per KenPom.

So what’s the key to all of this? Extreme connectedness — both in the half court and in transition.

“You can play as hard as you want, but if you don’t have that communication, you’re not gonna be able to work with the other four guys on the court,” Lipsey said. “So just communicating can take off a little of the pressure you have if you’re guarding the ball, because if you know a screen’s coming, you’re not gonna get blindsided or get behind the play.”

And that’s when players like Lipsey and Toure can strike.

“We stay calm, you know?” said Toure, who’s averaging 1.8 steals. “No distraction. Nobody crashes out. That’s a good part of our team.”

Whether that will translate to a rare win in Lawrence is anyone’s guess. The Jayhawks blew a double-digit lead in their most recent loss at West Virginia, but half of their other setbacks have come by six or fewer points, or against teams that were ranked at the time.

“You know how good they’ve been over time,” Otzelberger said of Bill Self’s team. “They’ve had their moments this year. They’ve had their challenges. At the same time, we expect for them to be at their best.”

Same goes for the Cyclones, who will look to strike and grapple their way to their first win in regulation in Lawrence since 2001.

“That’s crazy,” Lipsey said. “I mean, longer (ago) than I’ve been alive, so hopefully we can accomplish that. But, at the same time, that just shows you how hard it is to play down there.”

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